Lighter



May 15, 1951 L.. HuTcHlNsQN ETAL 2,552,718

LIGHTER Filed sept 8, 1949 2 sheets-sheet 1 E7/U @15229215 L ,-Hw-Zcj'aa`6 O11/ .N ELJY/ May 15,' 1951 Hu'rcHlNsoN ETAL 2,552,718

LIGHTER Filed Sept- 8, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 15, 1951 LIGHTER Leonard Hutchinson, Burgh Heath, Fred Charles Bristow, Tottenham, London, and Frederick William Binks, Palmers Green, London, England Application September 8, 1949, Serial No. 114,492 In Great Britain February 23, 1949 2 Claims. l

This invention relates to lighters and more particularly to automatic lighters of the kind in which the operation thereof causes a spark to be applied to the wick whereby a flame is produced.

In lighters of this character the flint is usually mounted in the end of a tubular passage formed in the body of the lighter, the flint being held in contact with the flint Wheel by means of a spring loaded plunger screwed into position within such tubular passage.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic lighter which has a more satisfactory form of mounting means for the flint and in which the various component parts may be conveniently assembled to form a robust and eicient mechanical device which is not liable to get out of order and which will perform efficiently the functions for which it is intended.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

The invention will be more completely understood from the following detailed description which is given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side View shown partly in section of an automatic lighter constructed in accordance with the invention and shown in the closed position;

Figure 2 is an end View of the lighter shown partly in section on the line A--A of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and t are sectional side and end views respectively of the lighter in the open position; and

Figure 5 is an exploded view of the lighter body in perspective. Y

Referring now to these drawings, the body of the lighter is constructed in the form of a rectangular based prism I and mainly serves in the usual manner as a fuel reservoir. The upper end of the body l is closed by a stepped plate, the lower level 2 of which lies within the main casing of the body l so as to provide a recess. The upper level of the stepped plate carries a wick nipple Il through which the wick 5 projects, and this upper level 3 is also provided with an aperture through which a int tube 6 projects, this tube providing a housing' for a flint 'I and pressure spring B. The interior of the body below the stepped plate serves as a fuel reservoir and is illed with cotton-wool d@ or other suitable absorbent material. Over the recess or cavity formed by the stepped plate there is pivotally supported a member permitting hand operation of the lighter. This member 9 is of channel section and is provided with a hollow spindle or trunnion Ill by means of which the member 9 is pivoted to the body I, the ends of the trunnion It being screw threaded to receive a pair of screws or bolts Ilia which are arranged to pass through the apertures in the sides of the body I with which the ends of the trunnon IU register when the member 9 is placed in position. The int wheel II is mounted on a second hollow spindle or trunnion l2 which passes between the arms i3 and M of a bifurcated lever I5 which is also provided with a recess l5 which forms a snuffer for engaging with the wick nipple ll when the lighter is closed. The trunnion I2 passes through a pair of slots I'! in thetside lianges of the operating member El and is pivotally secured at each end to the sides of the body I by a pair of screws or bolts IIl and I 9 passing through apertures in the body I with which apertures the trunnion i2 registers, the screws or bolts IB and i9 engaging with the ends of the trunnion I2 which are internally threaded for this purpose. The lever I5 is operatively connected to the member 9 by means of a pin or roller 2D which passes through lever I5 and engages in slots 22 and 23 in the side flanges of the member 9. One side of the flint wheel I I is cut inwardly to provide a saw-toothed edge, and between this toothed edge and the inner side of one arm I3 of the lever I5 there is provided a leaf spring 24 which is mounted on the trunnion I2, and is split at one side to form a pair of tongues, one of which 24a is bent inwards so as to engage with the teeth 25 formed on the side of the iiint wheel I I. This leaf spring 24 together with the teeth 25 thus comprise a pawl and ratchet system for controlling the flint wheel II, the arrangement being such that when the lever i5 is lifted the flint wheel I I is effectively rotated to produce a spark, but when the lever I5 is returned to the closed position the ilint wheel remains stationary, the dimensions of the teeth 25 being such that when the lever I5 reaches' the closed position the tongue 24a makes contact with the next tooth in readiness for the next operation.

A coil spring 26 is provided on the trunnion I0 for holding the lighter in the closed position, this spring having two projecting ends 21 and 28 which are so arranged as to press against the hand operated member 5l and the upright part 29 of the stepped plate respectively.

The upper end of the lighter body casing l is extended upwardly beyond the upper level 3 of the stepped plate so that when the operating member 9 is in the inopertive position the sides of the lighter body l enclose the operating member 9 with the exception of the end 30 thereof, which must be available for the finger or thumb pressure. The upper extension 34 of the lighter body l is formed with perforations or gill slits; 35 in the region of the wick nipple 4 so as to provide air for combustion. This arrangement ensures that the wick is guarded against draughts and renders the lighter substantially wind-proof.

The lower end of the lighter body is closed by a detachable plate 36 which forms the base of the lighter and has a recessed iiange 3l into which the lower end of the body l fits, a rectangular shaped gasket 38 formed of fibre or hard rubber or the like being provided which fits into the recessed ange 31, andV forms a fluid-tight seal between the body l: and the base plate 36. The latter also hasY two circular apertures 39, 49, one of which receives the lower end of the flint tube l, while'the other serves asa fuel supply opening and is provided with a screw-threaded closure plug 41;

The flint tube Gris constructed in the form of a detachable uni-t which is slid into position through an aperture 42 in the upper end of the fuel reservoir 3'. The upper end of this iiinttube 6 is provided with an enlarged orY flanged portion 43 of hexagonalA shape which serves as aa limiting stop, while the lower end is; externally screw-threaded, preferably with a left-hand thread, ,forA engagement with the threaded aperture 99 in the base plate. A rubber or brewasher 41E-is provided on the int tube 6 which is pressedbetween the' flanged end 43 and the upper surface of the fuel reservoir 3, when the flint tube is, screwed' into the aperture 39, so that when the1 flint tube isr Vscrewed home, a fluid-tight seal is.y formed wherev it passes through the upper end of the fuel reservoir, and the baseV plate 36 is secured firmly'in position. The lower end of the iiint tubeY is also screw-threaded internally to receive a closure plug 45 which engagesV with the lower end ofr the spring 8 so as to cause the latter to-pressthe flint 1 against the iiint wheel l l.

The operation of the lighter is as follows: When, the end 30 ofthe hand operated member 9: is depressed bythe thumb or finger, this member, is swung about its trunnion l as a pivot causing the end 3l to rise. This action lifts the pin or roller 29, which in turn lifts the lever l which swings about its trunnion l2, this action being permitted by the slots l1 which allow the hand operated member 9 to swing away from the trunnionA l2', the axis of which remains stationary,

the' pin or roller 29 rolling down the slots 22' andv 23 in the side iianges of the member 9 as the latter rises into the open position. This action causes the cap i5 to swing away from theY wick 5 and at theA same timeY the ratchet spring 24 pushesVY roundthe flint wheel I l which is thus effectively turned to produce a spark from the int 1 tolight the wick.

When the pressure. on the end of the upright member 9 is released, the latter member swings back under the action of the spring 26 which thus restores the lighter to the closed position in readiness for the next operation, the cap I6 being automatically replaced over the wick so as to extinguish the flame.

The end 30 of the hand operated member 9 is formedwith an indented upper surface on which a thumb or finger may be pressed to swing the operating member about its pivot. The limit of movement of operating member 9 is controlled by the pin or roller 20 in lever I5 coming to rest in the end of slots 22land 23 in member 9.

We claim 1. Automatic lighter comprising a body part containing a fuel reservoir, a base plate formed as a separate unit detachably arranged in the lower-endl of said body part so as to form a closure for said fuel reservoir, and a tubular member for housing a flint, said tubular member being slidably mounted in said body part and having a screw threaded. portion at its lower end engaging with a screw-'threaded aperture in said base plate, and.` a limiting: stop at its upper end engaging with said. body' part whereby said base plate is detachably secured to said tubular member and firmly held in position against the lower end oi' Y said body part.. Y

2. Automatic lighter comprising a body part containing a fuel reservoir, a base plate formed asa separate unit detachably arranged in the lower end of said body part, and having a peripheral recessed iiange for receiving the lower end ofthebody walls, aV tubular member for housing a flint slidably arranged in said body part and having a screw-threaded portion at its lowerl REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,718,902 Greene June 25, 1929 1,844,481 Rogers Feb. 9, 1932 1,889,342 Aronson Nov. 29, 1932 2,019,436 Gibson Oct. 29, 1935 2,055,993 Aronson Sept. 29, 1936 2,321,135 Florman June 8, 1943 FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 261,706v Switzerland May 31, 1949 525,598 Germany May 26, 1931 

